Oil separator



y 7, 1953 H. L. JOHNSON 2,644,584

OIL SEPARATOR Filed Nov. 18, 1949 INVENT OR BY J zzzm fim 0mm ATTORNEY5 Patented July 7, 1953 UNITED srA'rss T OFF-ICE I 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to oil separators, and more particularly to apparatus for use in connection with filling stations, garages, machine shops and similar installations for separating light weight material, such as liquid fuels and lubricants from heavier materials, such as water, before the water is discharged into a sewer to purify the discharged water and collect the lightor materials for salvage.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide simplified oil separating apparatus which can be placed in the ground directly below a floor, apron or driveway to receive waste liquid materials, such as water, oil, grease and motor fuel, and separate the water from the other, lighter materials, discharge the water into a sewer connection or other suitable discharge conduit and feed the lighter materials into a suitable storage tank or reservoir from which they can be removed for salvage or other disposition, which apparatus is adjustable to different liquid levels therein and is automatically protected against flooding in the event of stoppage of the water discharge connection or the flow of liquid at an excessive rate thereinto, and which is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture and install, and highly reliable in use.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description .and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic illustration of oil separating apparatus illustrative of the invention installed in operative position below a ground-supported pavement, a portion of the apparatus being shown in medial, vertical crossseotion to better illustrate the construction thereof; and

Figure 2 is a cross-section on an enlarged scale of a float valve structure constituting an operative component of the apparatus and is taken substantially on the line 2'-2 of Figure 1.

With continued reference to the drawing, the apparatus comprises, in general, a vertically-disposed receptacle 1 I! mounted in the ground below a pavement and having an open, upper end covered by a grating l2 flush with the upper surface of the pavement for the entry of liquids into the receptacle, a storage tank or reservoir I3 disposed in the ground at a level materially below the pavement H, a first or water discharge conduit [4, such as a sewer line, connected into the receptacle I intermediate the height and near the lower end of the latter, a second or oil conduit I5 extending from the receptacle 16 at a location above the connection of the discharge conduit M with the receptacle into the top 'of the tank l3, an adjustable float valve assembly I 6 mounted in vertically-disposed position on the end of the oil conduit 15 within the recetacle l0, and a pipe or casing i'l extending from the reservoir I3 to the surface of the pavement l I.

The receptacle It may conveniently comprise three sections It, 19 and 2D ofcylindrical vitreous conduit crooks vertically disposed from bottom to top in the order mentioned, and a concrete base 2! into which the bottom section I8.is set and to which the bottom section is sealed with a watertight seal. The sections l8 and H! are flanged at their upper ends, so that the flange of the bottom section it receives the bottom end of the intermediate section I 9 with a water-tight seal, and the flange at the upper end of the intermediate section 19 receives the bottom end of the top section 20 with a water-tight seal. The upper end of the top section 20 is embedded in the material of the paving l and the paving is provided with an opening immediately above the section 20 for the reception of the grating 12 through which the liquids flow from the pavement into the receptacle l0.

The pavement I I may be the floor of a machine shop, hangar or garage, the apron of a hangar or the driveway of a filling station or any other pavement which receives mixed liquids, such as water and hydrocarbon materials, such as motor fuel, lubricant or the oily substances removed from vehicle engines and chassis when such engines and chassis are cleaned.

The grating l2 may be an ordinary cast iron grating having a strength sufiicient to support vehicles, such as automobiles and aeroplanes, and having openings therethrough for the free passage of liquids and other materials from the pavement H into the receptacle I6. This grating is easily removable s that sediment can be periodically cleaned from the bottom of the recep tacle l0 through the open tacle.

The discharge conduit 14, as illustrated, comprises an elbow section 2|, one end of which is received in an aperture in the wall of the bottom section 58 of the receptacle H and sealed to the top end of the recepreceptacle wall, and the other end of which is face of the latter, and a conduit 24 connected to storage tank of the desired capacity, and the pipe I! is a conventional metal pipe extending from the surface of the pavement ll into the storage tank [3, so that a pump hose can be lowered into the tank and the contents of the tank pumped upwardly therefrom. The upper end of the pipe I! is ordinarily closed by a cover 26, and a vent pipe 2! extends from the tank iii to some location at which discharge of gases or vapors ,from the interior of the tank will not be .ob-

noxious. This vent pipe precludes trapping of air in the storage tank and permits the storage tank to fill without obstruction.

The oil pipe it may be an ordinarymetal pipe, one section 23 of which extends through'the top of the tank 13 and to a location near the bottom of the tank'and is secured at its upper end to one end of an elbow fitting 29. A substantially horizontal section 38 extends fromthe elbow fitting 29 through an aperture in the wall of the intermediate section [9 of the receptacle id at a location somewhat above the elbow 29, and an elbow 3! is secured to the section 33 within the receptacle l0 and is directed upwardly, the float valve assembly [6 being secured in vertically disposed position to the upper end of the elbow 3!.

The float valve asembly 16, as particularly illustrated in Figure 2, comprises a cylindrical pipe section 32 secured at its lower end to the upper end of the elbow 3|, and provided at its upper end with external screw threads 33, and a thin walled cylinder 34, preferably made of corrosion resisting material such as'copper or brass, slidably fitted into the pipe section 32 for vertical adjustment relative to the pipe fitting and carrying the valve mechanism on its upper end. A gland nut 35 is threaded onto the upper end of the pipe section 32 and suitable packing material 36 is compressed by'this gland nut around the cylinder 3 to provide a fluid tight joint between the cylinder and the upper end of thepipe section 32 while permitting longitudinal movement of the cylinder relative to the pipe section. The upper end of the cylinder is outwardly flared to provide an annular flange 31, and a cylindrical valve body 38 receives, atits lower end, the upper end of the cylinder 34 and is beaded over the flange 31, as indicated at 39, to provide a rigid and liquid tight connection between the valve body and the upper end of the vertically slidable cylinder.

. An annular valve seat formation Ml extends inwardly of the valve body 38 near the upper end of the later, and a guide sleeve M is disposed in the housing adjacent the valve seat. A valve stem 42 is slidably mounted in the housing by the sleeve ll through which the valve stem extends, and a valve head E3 is carried by the valve stem at the under side of the valve seat formation to cooperate with the seat formation to open and close the valve. The valve stem extends above the valve housing and this upwardly extending portion is exteriorly screw t read A hollow, saucer-shaped float it has a central recess therein of a size to receive the valve body 38 and the stem 32 extends upwardly through this recess and through an aperture in the top wall 133 of the float. This valve stem is externally screw threaded at its upper end, and nuts 36 and ii are threaded onto the stem at the lower and upper sides of the float 43 respectively, to adjustably mount the float on the valve stem.

The float id is preefrably formed of some corrosion resisting-metal such as copper, and the valve housing and the valve stem and seat structure are also preferably formed of a suitable corrosion resisting metal;

In operation, when the liquids fall into the receptacle IQ through the grating iii, the lighter liquids such as liquid motor fuel, lubricants, et cetera, will rise to the top of the liquid column in the receptacle, the said, metal particles and other heavy material will settle to the bottom of the receptacle from which they may be periodically removed by displacing the grating i2, and the water W111 occupy the space between the bottom sediment and the lighter liquids floating at the top of the liquid column. The top of the valve housing 38 is positioned at a level such that the lighter liquids floating on top of the liquid col' umn will flow over the top of the valve housing and downwardly through the valve housing, the cylinder 33, the tube 32, and through the conduit 55 in to the storage tank H3. The vertical position of the top of the valve housing can be accurately adjusted by moving the cylinder 34 up and down in the tube or sleeve 32. If the water discharge conduit 14 should become clogged, or if liquids should pour into the receptacle H3 at an excessive rate so that the water below the lighter liquids rises above the upper end of the valve housing 38, the float M will be raised to close the valve and prevent Water from flowing into the storage tank 33. As soon as the outward flow of water through the water discharge conduit has restored the level of the liquid column in the receptacle E8 to the normal operating level, the float 63 will descend and the valve head 33 will separate from the valve seat formation AS, thereby opening the valve and permitting flow of the lighter liquids at the top of the liquid column to the storage tank i 3 to resume.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing de scription, and all changes which come within the I meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

In an apparatus for liquids, a vertically disposed collecting tank positioned below a ground surface and having'its upper end open and flush with said ground surface, a first conduit having one end arranged adjacent to the lower end of said collecting tank and connected to said collecting tank, the other end of said first conduit being spaced above said one end adapted to be connected to a disposal system located beneath said ground surface, a

-'storage tank including a top Wall spaced from said collecting tank and positioned beneath the ground surface, said top wall of said storage'tank being spaced further from the ground surface than the other end of said first conduit, a second,

separating immiscible 5 conduit extending between and connected to said collecting and storage tanks, one end of said second conduit being within said collecting tank and positioned substantially the same distance beneath the ground surface as said other end of said first conduit, the other end of said second conduit extending through the top wall of said storage tank, and conduit means connected to said storage tank for withdrawing the contents thereof.

HAROLD L. JOHNSON.

Name Date McCabe et a1 Aug. 25, 1908 Number Number 0 Number Name Date Cully Mar. 7, 1916 Marston Apr. 9, 1918 Oswald Sept. 28, 1926 Sisk May 23, 1933 Matthews Nov. 27, 1934 Fleming Jan. 5, 1943 Muller Aug. 31, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain 1853 

